Free floating wave energy converters have been disclosed in applicant's earlier patent/patent application numbers AU2006274564 (A1), BRPI0614487 (A2), CA2617208 (A1), EP1915528 (A1), EP1915528 (B1), JP2009503362 (A), NO20081115 (A), NZ566247 (A), US2008229745 (A1), U.S. Pat. No. 7,823,380 (B2), US2011006531 (A1), WO2007015269 (A1) and ZA200801801 (A).
The original invention essentially comprises of a flexible pipe, or plurality thereof, that floats on the ocean surface and adapts to the wave form, suitably moored so as to maintain the fore and aft axis generally towards the waves direction. Special “Inlet”, attached at the mouth of the flexible pipe, ingests graduated slugs/segments of air and water into the “Flexible Pipe”, synchronous with the waves.
Fluid pressure is built up in the “Flexible Pipe” until it is sufficiently high to drive a turbine or pump ocean water into reservoirs, etc. Several such pipes could be grouped to make a wave energy farm. With the rest of the conditions remaining constant, increase in the number of “Flexible Pipes” and length, enhances the flow volume and pressure, respectively.
In US application 20100276933, wherein the principle of “overtopping” has been exploited to run turbines. A similar approach has been adopted for one of the devices disclosed herein, but to feed water to an “Inlet” system.
The principle of “Air Lift Pumps”, with patents of more than 100 years vintage, has also been exploited in yet other sub-systems disclosed herein, but with certain differences. For instance, air pressure is being supplied from within the system in this case, and not fed from outside as in the case of the published material.